A/N: This was the first fic I wrote and I took it down a couple of months ago to make some adjustments. There were a few plot holes that I wasn't very happy with so I've tried to fill them and added a little more character to it. It's been slow progress and certain people have been very helpful at kicking me up the mikta to get me writing. Thanks. The page breaks are where the original WIP chapters were split.
Moonbase
Samantha Carter rolled over and smiled. Today would be a good day. The hard work she had put in for just over a year was finally going to pay off. And to top it all off she got to wake up next to her ex-CO. An occurrence that was all too rare nowadays considering that the galaxy was at its most peaceful in years. Sam found it ironic that when her and Jack got to spend most of their days together, they weren't allowed to have the relationship they wanted and now that they were allowed they didn't get to spend more than a couple of days a week together, if they were lucky.
But she shouldn't dwell. Today she got to stand next to the man and team that she loved for the official opening ceremony of the Moonbase. Sam had been heavily involved with the design and engineering of the base as a strategic defence and research centre for Homeworld Security. And now it was finished and she couldn't believe that she'd put herself forward for a post that was going to take her even further away from Jack but they'd always agreed that their careers were too important to allow their feelings to get in the way. So they spent what little free time they had together in the hope that it would be enough. If Sam was honest with herself it probably wasn't but she pushed the thought out of her mind and leant over to wake Jack up.
"Morning." Sam said before placing a gentle kiss on Jack's forehead.
"Mmm, that's a much nicer way to wake up than the usual alarm." Jack mumbled as he stirred from his heavy sleep. He opened his eyes to look at her in the early morning sunlight. "You looking forward to today?" he asked.
"I can't wait to be honest. It's been such an exciting project to work on." She replied sitting up to get out of the bed.
"Well you deserve the praise you'll get today, it would have taken us years to get this project moving without your help." Jack swung his legs off the bed and stood up slowly as several of his joints cracked.
And so their day began, both moving around each other in a practised manner, getting things ready for their trip to the Moon as though it were the most normal idea in the world.
The tall man opened his eyes in panic as the alarm went off. He realised where he was as he slowly turned to switch the alarm clock off. He was not looking forward to today, it would probably turn out to be the worst day of his life. The picture behind the clock reminded him of why he was doing this and just what was at stake. He squeezed his eyes shut again to banish the thought and rolled off the bed to find the light. He looked around the room slowly and realised that that morning was probably the last time he would see it. He was sure that if things didn't go the way they were supposed to today he would find himself in a much smaller room that would be far less comfortable.
He stepped out into the hall to use the showers. People nodded as they passed him, some saying hello and flashing him a smile. He smiled back nervously not able to meet the eyes of those around him knowing what he was going to do over the next few hours. Nobody would believe that he would be capable of it, that the person they had got to know over the past decade would be able to betray them like this. But they had no idea about what would happen if he didn't carry out his instructions. They would do the same in his situation, wouldn't they?
After a quick shower he returned to his room and prepared himself for the task ahead. His dark thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. He opened it to find an all too familiar face on the other side.
"Siler, you ready to go?"
Vala and Cam were talking quietly while they waited for the others to arrive in the large room that would hold the ceremony in a few hours on the Moonbase. The room, in opposition to the utilitarian look of the rest of the base, was decorated in a much warmer manner. The walls were covered in portraits and photos of past Moon and Stargate missions, remembering those who'd lost or almost lost their lives in the pursuit of exploration and the protection of Earth. The rich carpet gave the room a more official feel. The idea had come from Daniel in fact. He'd suggested that the Moonbase be used for diplomatic meetings between the nations aware of the Stargate program. With its beautiful view of the Earth, he'd pointed out that some feuds can seem small when in the presence of the globe. And so the main room at the centre of the base had become a place reminiscent of the White House or the UN. Today would be the first time the room had been used in its official capacity to welcome delegates from many countries that would have a say in how the Earth was going to be protected. Like Atlantis, the base would be used in a much more international capacity.
Cam and Vala turned at the sound of the door to the room opening, announcing the arrival of Daniel and Teal'c. They walked into the room, smiling when they saw Cam and Vala waiting for them. Vala jumped up to meet them as Cam rose slowly from his seat.
"Finally Muscles, I was wondering where you two had got to. What HAVE you been doing?"
"Erm, just organising a little something for Sam considering this'll be her home away from home from now on." Daniel answered glancing at Teal'c.
"Indeed, Colonel Carter will be most pleased with the additions we made to her quarters." said Teal'c with a rather smug look on his face.
Cam looked a little worried, "Additions?"
But before the pair could answer Jack and Sam came in from the opposite door. They had travelled on the last incoming flight from Earth aboard the Artemis. The others had arrived on an earlier flight. The Artemis had been specially commissioned to act as the transport between Earth and the Moonbase. It also acted as a last line of defence for Earth and the new Moonbase. It took just over two hours to get from the Moon to Earth using the cheaper engines (governmental cut backs) that had been fitted to the new model. There had been no need for the faster sub light or hyperspace engines apparently.
"T! Daniel! It's great to see you guys, it's been too long!" Jack exclaimed as he turned to greet all of them in turn. Vala flew forwards and almost floored Sam with a huge hug.
"It's good to see you too Vala, Cam." She turned and kissed both Teal'c and Daniel on the cheek. Working on the base had meant she hadn't been at the SGC for a while and she'd missed the band a lot.
Before they could all catch up properly, General Landry came into the room.
"Colonel Carter, General, great to see you. Colonel are you ready to show us what you've been doing up here for the last year?"
Sam turned and flashed the group a grin before proceeding to give them a tour around the base. Jack butted in occasionally to offer a little bit of information, looking rather pleased with himself each time he remembered something technical that Sam had mentioned. The group eventually reached the command centre and met someone they weren't expecting.
Siler walked a step behind the man who had ruined his life as they entered the control room to check on the final preparations for the ceremony. He'd met John Smith (not his real name of course but what he'd introduced himself as) six months earlier while in a bar with his wife. John Smith had somehow known everything about the SGC and Siler's part in the construction of the Moonbase. Siler had been gobsmacked and had tried to ignore the man and leave quietly with his wife. But John Smith hadn't stopped there. Two weeks later Siler had come home on leave from the Moonbase to find a note explaining (rather politely he thought) that his wife had been kidnapped and if Siler didn't do exactly as he said, his wife would be treated to a rather slow and sticky end. The note also stated that John Smith would know if Siler tried to tell anyone at the SGC. Scared by how much this man had known about him and the Stargate Program, Siler didn't doubt the accuracy of the letter's statement. And so his life had spiralled downwards to the point he was at now. About to betray not only the people who had been so good to him at the secret program, but his country and all that he believed in. But what could he do? His wife Gloria was everything to him, without her his life wouldn't be worth living, even as a traitor. John Smith posed as a technical sergeant and had been accepted into the SGC on Siler's recommendation. It had apparently been absurdly easy for Smith to pose as a member of the Air Force. Or so he had told Siler. He'd promptly joined Siler on the Moonbase project and now Siler found himself at the point where everything they had done over the last few months was coming together at a terrible climax. He reminded himself yet again that he wasn't doing this for himself but for Gloria.
"Siler! How goes it?" Jack shouted. Siler looked appalled at the thought that General O'Neill would be on the base when the plan went into action. He shifted uncomfortably and looked down at the ground, again unable to make eye-contact, especially with the one person above all others who he admired.
"Not too bad sir, thanks for asking. Anyway we have a lot to be getting on with sir." He turned to John Smith and hoped he would take the initiative and leave too, but Smith had other ideas.
"Sergeant John Smith, sir!" Siler looked round in horror as this man introduced himself to the General.
"At ease. So you've been helping out Siler up here? Not that he needs much help, I hope you aren't as accident prone as he is?"
"No sir, but I've got to know him very well and I think you might find out just what Siler can do when he puts his mind to it very soon." And with that he saluted and left the room with Siler trailing in his wake looking thoroughly dismayed.
Jack turned and looked at Sam with a question on his face but Sam merely shrugged her shoulders and said "I've worked with those men for a year up here and they're still a mystery to me." Sam then turned and started chatting to Vala. Jack stood away from the others for a moment and looked back at the door Siler and Smith had just left by. He couldn't shake that nasty feeling that something evil was coming their way. But he shrugged and put it down to being in space again. He was getting far too old for this.
Sam stood shoulder to shoulder with her favourite group of people in world on the small dais in front of those who'd been involved with the development of the base and various politicians from around the world with a huge unashamed grin on her face. She couldn't believe that the day had finally come when the Moonbase was officially opened. She was immensely proud of herself as was Jack clearly, judging by the fact that he'd managed to write a speech over two minutes long. She ducked her head at the appropriate moments in modesty, blushing slightly at the compliments coming from the man she loved and had looked up to for years. To be honest she couldn't wait to get down to her research here on the new base, there were some seriously cool bits of technology that she couldn't wait to get her hands on.
The room was bathed in sunlight and through the large glass (well it looked like glass but was in fact something else entirely) dome the Earth was beautifully clear. It looked like a marble, the greens of the continents just visible amongst the blue and white. It was one of her favourite things about the base.
Jack came to the end of his speech and looked over at Sam, beautiful intelligent Sam, that he still couldn't believe he was allowed to love unconditionally. She was blushing at the round of applause she'd received. She stepped forwards to say a few words about how the development of the Moonbase had been a team effort and she couldn't have done it without the tireless efforts of the rest of the engineers and scientists. As Sam finished Jack glanced around to see these "geeks" looking happy and proud, but noticed that Smith and Siler were missing. Trying to push that nagging feeling down again, he turned back towards Sam and the rest of SG-1 as they encircled Sam to offer their congratulations. She looked over at him from within her happy prison and beamed, that heart-stopping gorgeous smile that never failed to make Jack realise just how lucky he was to have her all to himself.
Siler took a deep breath and thought again about why he was doing this. The worst part of this ordeal was that he had no idea what John Smith and his cronies were going to do when they'd seized control of the base. He was a hundred percent sure that it wouldn't be anything good. It wasn't through lack of trying that he didn't know, he'd asked Smith on a number of occasions but had only received a stony silence. And now as they reached the final part of the plan his worries returned stronger than ever before. But over all of this was the gut-wrenching pain at the thought of what would happen to Gloria if he didn't do this. He only hoped that she would be ok if anything happened to him, that these men were honourable enough to let her go.
Smith came back in to see how Siler was getting along with the adjustments to the device set into the wall. They were in a room just off the one where everyone was gathered for the opening ceremony.
"You're doing well Siler, I'm impressed. I guess you must love your wife more than I thought. This is the final part of our plan that you will be involved with and if it goes without a hitch you and your wife will be free to continue your lives. But if anything goes wrong, I will be holding you responsible. Oh, and that will directly correlate to the amount of pain your wife experiences." Smith snarled behind Siler.
Siler sighed and continued with the adjustments he was making to the field generator. It was a piece of technology that Smith had brought with him and they'd spent the last few months integrating it into the systems of the base so that no-one knew or noticed that it was there. The trust everyone had in Siler was infallible, even Colonel Carter hadn't noticed the device's introduction. The other major part of the plan Siler had been involved with had been a systematic recording of Colonel Carter's speech. Something that would be used later on, Siler had been told. He slowly turned to face Smith with a huge sense of defeat.
"It's ready."
"Fantastic." Smith stepped forward and entered a command into the console set away from the wall in the small and seemingly unimportant room. "Now the fun begins. You won't want to step outside this room while this is active by the way."
Daniel couldn't even remember how the conversation had started but somehow they had reached this point where he was standing listening to Vala rant about everything that was wrong with Apollo 13 the film. Cam was standing behind Vala trying - rather unsuccessfully - to hide a smirk as Daniel tried to reason with Vala – rather unsuccessfully.
"All I'm saying is couldn't he have come up with something better than 'Houston we have a problem', I mean it was like one of the most dramatic parts of the film?" Vala questioned Daniel about Apollo 13 and those immortal words. Vala had insisted on watching the film to get an idea about the earliest missions to the Moon.
"Vala, that line was taken from the actual mission, the astronauts were trained to remain calm even under extraordinary circumstances, can't you see that they were incredibly brave?" Daniel answered.
"Well it just doesn't seem very realistic." Vala stated as she brought her arms down to her side in frustration.
Daniel sighed and looked to Cam over Vala's shoulder. "Tag, you're it. I'm sitting this one out."
Daniel walked towards the small buffet as the smirk dropped from Cam's features. Vala turned towards him clearly meaning to continue the conversation.
Sam chuckled. She'd missed the team banter, particularly between Daniel and Vala. She turned to spot Jack talking with General Landry, she wished they could spend some time together before he left. The politics in Washington meant he didn't have time to stay on the Moonbase with her for a few days, something they'd 'discussed' that morning during the flight on the Artemis, but that was forgotten now at the prospect of his imminent departure. She stared up at the view through the ceiling and got lost in the blues of the Earth. This was it, she really was about to start work on the Moon! The geek in her couldn't believe how cool this situation was, but the lover in her was heart-broken at the thought of seeing Jack even less. Sam dropped her head down to try and rein in her emotions but noticed everyone was dropping to the floor. She looked around for the cause but felt a wave of fatigue slip over her and suddenly the ground was rushing up to meet her. The last thing Samantha Carter thought of as unconsciousness claimed her was how small and vulnerable the Earth looked.
Eugh. Jack felt like he'd just been on a weekend-long bender. That or he'd wrestled with an Unas. Maybe it was a combination of the two. Whatever had happened, his head felt about five times too heavy for his shoulders. He heard voices around him and hoped Sam was there to give him a little sympathy. As he began to open his eyes his memory came flooding back to him. He'd been talking to General Landry and then he'd felt very tired. He'd needed to lie down and sleep right then and there. And now he was somewhere with harsh, buzzing lighting and the voices were getting louder.
"Cam we have to get out, now." Why was Daniel shouting, thought Jack. And what could be so bad about the situation that he would be that worked up? Finally he regained his senses and the thought suddenly struck him that the need to go to sleep in a room full of people couldn't have been a good thing.
"Daniel, Cam what's going on?" He asked groggily, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. He started to shake his head but decided almost immediately that that would not help the situation.
"Well, we all passed out and then we woke up here, apparently." Cam answered. 'We' consisted of SG-1 (old and new) minus one person.
"Where's Carter?" Jack said immediately slipping into the military role that not only suited the new situation but subdued the sense of dread that threatened to overtake him at the thought of Sam being elsewhere.
"We don't know Jack," Daniel admitted softly, "she wasn't here when we woke up."
"Do not worry O'Neill, Colonel Carter is more than capable of defending herself." Teal'c added, trying to comfort his friend as much as he could when he himself was extremely worried about the Colonel's whereabouts.
Jack wandered around the small bleak room, he tried the door but found the mechanism locked. The walls were grey and bare. There was nothing in here to help them in the slightest. He kicked the door in frustration then leant against it in defeat.
"So have we started taking bets on who's behind this? Lucian Alliance? Tell me it's not another Ba'al clone." The sense of dread was growing now and he felt physically sick. Where was Sam? Who had done this and what on Earth did they want?
Vala answered him as the others knew better than to say anything to Jack when he was faced with this kind of situation. "Well I'm not sure about who's behind all this, but I'd put good money on Sam coming up with something to get us out of it." She grinned at Jack and he couldn't help but smile a little at the thought of how many times Sam had managed to save their collective asses. Somehow though, this time felt different.
Sam woke up with a blinding headache. This can't be happening again, she thought as she recognised her surroundings. The headache added to the memories being dragged up by the room she found herself in. The interior of the Artemis reminded her far too much of the Prometheus and her time marooned on it. And now she realised where she was. The brig.
"Oh this is not good," she said aloud.
Sam tried the door in a vain hope, nope she was definitely locked in. But who had put her there and more importantly why? She walked around the small room and tried to take stock. So, the rest of the team were elsewhere (hopefully unharmed) and she had nothing of any use on her person (her jacket had been removed as had her shoes). However, before she could do anything useful with the one thing that was to her advantage - ie. her intimate knowledge of the ship and its systems - Sam heard footsteps coming down the hall and mentally prepared herself for her first meeting with her captors.
Sam moved away from the door and tried to prepare herself for what might be on the other side. It opened to reveal a rather small, rough looking man.
"Come with me." He said in a gruff voice. "And don't try anything, we have complete control of the ship so you won't get very far even if you get past me."
Sam considered her options but thought it best to find out from her captors what was going on. She stepped out of the room ahead of the man and could see straight away that they (whoever 'they' were) really did have control of the ship. Their numbers appeared to be larger than the small crew compliment for the Artemis' journey from Earth to the Moon for the ceremony and Sam began to wonder where the human crew could be.
"What have you done with the crew?" She asked of her guard.
"It's not my place to answer your questions. That is up to Captain Yik." And that was the last word he said before they reached the bridge. Questions of how they had got the command codes for the ship continued to flood Sam's mind, but during the short walk to the bridge she could not come up with any answers of her own.
"Captain Yik, here is the prisoner as requested."
"Thank-you Sergeant." A tall man with broad shoulders turned towards Sam from his place at the front of the bridge. He wore a slightly tattered and obviously well-worn uniform. He looked to be about the same age as her with dark brown hair. Sam would have considered him good-looking if she'd met him under other circumstances.
"Hello, Colonel Carter, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Captain Yik of the Kerosian Guard." His tone was polite and respectful. He looked her straight in the face and Sam was taken aback by the very un-baddy-like behaviour.
"What have you done with the crew and where are the rest of my team?" She asked immediately, pushing down any unsettling feelings.
"They're all fine, locked away safely back on the Moonbase." He replied politely.
Sam really wanted to believe that they were all ok. They'd been captured on many an occasion but it was rare for them to be split up.
"Why have I been brought aboard the Artemis then? Why wasn't I locked up with the rest of the crew and personnel from the base?"
"From what we have learnt over the last few months, you are far too resourceful a person to have locked up away from my watchful eye. I wanted to keep you here where I could ensure that you would not cause any trouble," he remarked as if he was talking about a particularly naughty puppy. This man may have come across as polite and charming but Sam was sure that he could change at a moments notice into a killer; there was something hidden behind his deep blue eyes. "Oh and you will act as a rather nice insurance policy should things not go exactly to plan later on. You see, Colonel, you are integral to the success of this plan and the glorious thing is that you have done all the work without even knowing it."
A cold shiver ran down Sam's spine at his words. What had she done that could possibly be used by these invaders? She assumed that was their plan anyway. But before she could find out any more about their plan the captain spoke again.
"Well I'm glad to have met you Colonel. I'm afraid you will have to return to the brig now, don't worry I will send for you again once the fun begins." The Captain turned away from her and her little guard returned to escort her back to the brig. Sam wanted to stay and learn more about what was happening but thought that it was probably better to be on her own so she could start working out how she was going to beat a ship full of the enemy and get back to the Moonbase to find the others. This, even for her, she thought, was going to be a challenge.
Siler walked down the corridor ahead of Smith. He didn't know what they were going to do with him now. If they were going to kill him they would have done it; he couldn't do anything more to help them now. He'd watched an hour earlier as uniformed men and women had poured through the dock from their alien ship. It looked as if it had been in commission for a long time, the outer hull was scarred and warped from an extended trip in space. Three quarters of the group had peeled off to board the Artemis, most of the crew of which had been on the base when the field had been activated, and the last quarter had spread out through the base to lock the SGC personnel in various rooms. And now Siler was being taken God knows where to have who knew what done to him. He sighed and his thoughts shifted to Gloria. Maybe it was better that he would never see her again. Although he had done all of this to keep her safe, he doubted very much that she would think much of his actions. It was part of the reason he loved her; her morals were beyond reproach and he dreaded to think what she would feel about him betraying the world to save her.
Smith told him to stop in front of another anonymous door. Siler guessed he was going to be locked in here by himself or worse. Unfortunately, Smith had other plans.
"I'm going to enjoy this Siler." As he opened the door and stepped in, Siler's heart sank. This was the last group of people he wanted to see, let alone be locked in a room with. The faces that turned towards him all lit up when they saw him but that was about to change.
"Are you going to tell them what you've been doing for the last few months or will I?" Smith smirked. The looks of confusion on SG-1's faces were too much for Siler and he looked at the ground. "Well I'll take that silence as a cue then, shall I? You see my name isn't really John Smith and I'm not part of the Air Force," he explained to the team, "I've been up here for months with Siler here, helping me to fit a field generator into the base so we could set our grand plan into motion. That was what knocked you out by the way. Siler's been so helpful. I couldn't have done it without him really and now you'll all be stuck in this drab little room while we carry out our diabolical plan." He laughed at his own dramatics and with that, the man known as John Smith left the room with a smug grin on his face.
Siler shuffled into the room, desperately looking anywhere but the faces of the five people in front of him.
"Well Siler?" Jack said incredulously. "What the hell does he mean you helped?"
Siler just stared at the ground, he could think of no words to attempt to explain what had happened to him over the last few months. Vala stepped forwards toward him and for a moment Siler thought she was going to hit him but she came very close and said quietly to him:
"I can't imagine that you would ever help them willingly Siler, so what are they holding over you?"
Siler couldn't quite believe that she of all of them would understand. He dared a glance at her face and was surprised to only find compassion in her dark eyes. He looked around quickly at the others.
Cam was less patient. "It better be something good Siler because at this moment it is taking all my strength not to deck you here and now," he said in a low and dangerous voice. Teal'c was looking as stoic as ever and Siler couldn't read his expression at all. Daniel on the other hand looked as if he was in a state of shock.
His gaze returned to Vala's face and he drew strength from it.
"My wife." He said quietly. "I came home on leave from the Moonbase to find a note saying she'd been kidnapped and I had to do whatever these people wanted or she'd die."
"Oh Siler, I'm so sorry." Vala replied. She pulled him into a hug and Siler could feel a little of the regret and guilt melt away. He could see Daniel watching Vala with a slightly confused look on his face, he was obviously still surprised with Vala's caring side at times.
"Siler, I'm sorry but why the hell didn't you come and tell us? We could have taken these guys out when this all started." Cam was obviously reasoning the situation out in his mind but still held on to some of his anger.
"They said they'd kill her if I told anyone. They'd approached me before with a huge amount of knowledge about the SGC so I had to believe that they would know if I told anyone there."
"You must have known that this would lead to a dangerous situation such as the one we are in Sergeant Siler?" Teal'c said with a slightly softer expression on his face. He understood the importance of family but his sense of duty came above all. After all, he'd left his family in order to free his people with the help of the Tau'ri.
"All I could think about was Gloria and how scared she must be. You always stop the bad guys, I didn't think they would succeed. I always thought someone else would see what they were doing. Especially Colonel Carter. She worked so closely with Smith and me that I thought she must have seen something odd about him but she was so wrapped up in completing the base." Siler was letting it all go now, stepping away from Vala so he could walk and explain his thought processes. It felt amazing to be able to verbalise everything that he had been feeling.
"And then before I knew it, we were setting the field generator and everyone was on the floor." He turned away from the others to regain control of his emotions. It had felt like a dream watching all his friends and colleagues sink to the floor as if in slow motion and Smith laughing beside him from their viewpoint.
Jack had stayed particularly quiet during the exchange. He'd been completely blindsided by this. Siler, he thought, Siler for crying out loud. Way to hit them where it hurts. He was angry at Siler for not telling them but he could understand why he'd done it. He thought of Sam in a similar position and shuddered. Jack had never been able to cope with Sam being in such a situation well. He tried not to think about where she could be at that moment. He sighed and turned towards the others.
"Right, well now that we know who to blame for this whole situation can we move on? Siler it's been tough but this actually gives us a big advantage over them. You must know what they're up to and what they're planning to do next?"
"Well actually sir, I don't. All I know is that it has something to do with the Artemis and Colonel Carter. They were loading about seventy people onto it a few minutes ago along with the Colonel. You should also know that I have been recording the Colonel's speech for the last few months. Don't ask me why, it was just something they wanted me to do." Siler was annoyed that he couldn't offer any more information to help them. Smith must have thought that the pleasure he would gain from watching Siler being torn a new one by the people he'd betrayed outweighed the knowledge he possessed about the plan.
Jack and the rest of the team looked at each other with the same worried expression. Why was Sam always at the centre of these things? Daniel spoke first;
"Well, I would guess that they want to use the Artemis to launch an attack on Earth but I don't know why they would need Sam's speech?" His brow furrowed as he lost himself in his thoughts. The others stood watching Jack and waiting for what to do next. Jack was the leader again and the others knew there was no-one better to help them save the day.
Jack had his own thoughts on why they would need Sam's voice but it wasn't important at that moment. They needed to get out now. It wasn't going to take the Artemis long to get to Earth and they had to stop it. Somehow. This was what they did. Whatever it took. Jack tried not to think about that part too much and what it would mean for Sam.
Back in the brig Sam took stock of what she knew and what needed to be done. She started going over what she knew. Sam had been involved in Artemis' design intimately and knew the ship upside down and inside out, including how long it took the ship on average to reach Earth from the Moon. So, Sam thought, from what she'd seen on the bridge they'd only just left the Moonbase dock which meant she had about one hour forty-five (thanks to those governmental cut-backs on the engines) to escape the brig, sabotage the ship and get off it herself. All of that before the Kerosian Guard and the enigmatic Captain Yik had a chance to destroy Earth.
Sam thought about how the day had started and couldn't believe that yet again she was trying to save the world. She thought about how handsome Jack had looked in his dress blues, she hadn't had the chance to kiss him and thank him for his speech. And she thought how trivial their argument had been about the lack of time they got together; all she wanted now was one more day with him, hell one more hour. She tried to push the others out of her thoughts, there was enough of a ticking clock without the thought of what the rest of SG-1 would do to the Artemis if they had an opportunity to end this.
Sam went over the last few details of her plan in her head. Well, she thought, less of a 'plan' more of a 'vague idea and hope for the best'. She'd learnt a long time ago (mainly from her former commanding officer) that intricate plans tended to go wrong. Particularly where SG-1 was concerned. Again she pushed the thoughts of Jack away, she couldn't afford to worry about what was happening back on the Moonbase at the moment. The door opened to reveal her small guard again. At least the first part of her idea had worked out.
"Out." He said sharply.
"You know you could learn a few manners from your captain." Sam quipped.
"You won't be quite so cheerful in a few minutes." The guard said back with that annoying smirk making a reappearance. Sam was worried now, she had to hope that whatever they had planned was going to take enough time for her to carry out her own plan. They carried on in silence again until they reached the bridge, all the time Sam was looking around, trying to gauge how many crew were aboard the ship and where they were mainly gathered.
As she stepped onto the bridge, the Captain turned to greet her with a horribly satisfied grin on his face.
"Ah, Colonel so nice to see you again so soon." Again with the over-familiarity, thought Sam, ugh this guy was a creep.
"Shame I can't say the same about you Captain Yik." Should be Captain Yuk said a distinctly Jack-sounding voice in her head.
"Tsk, there is no need for such unpleasantness Colonel Carter, especially since you will soon become such an important celebrity amongst my people. You wouldn't want them to think you rude would you?" The Captain retorted.
"I couldn't give a rat's a..." But Sam's response was drowned out by the sound of an incoming communication from Earth.
"Artemis this is Stargate Command, please respond." Walter's voice came clearly over the speaker system.
"Now, Colonel you get to see how you will bring about the downfall of your own people and the rise of mine." Captain Yik turned and said with a smile.
"SGC this is Artemis, we have returned early from the Moonbase ceremony due to a communications problem."
Sam gawped. But that was HER voice.
"Artemis, please clarify. We have been unable to reach the Moonbase or Artemis for two hours, what has happened?"
"There was a massive amount of feedback in the communications system of the Moonbase due to a new program I was running just before the ceremony started and it knocked out both itself and the system on the Artemis as it was docked at the time. I managed to get the basic systems working again on Artemis but we need to take replacement parts back to the Moonbase. We will be entering Earth orbit in roughly an hour. We will be back in touch then with requests for crew and equipment transfers. Artemis out."
"Message received Artemis, we will be in contact again once you are in orbit. SGC out."
Sam was gobsmacked. How had they got hold of recordings of her voice? And enough of them to make her sound that convincing? Without a huge amount of computing power someone must have been recording her for months. But who? It struck her quickly as her best ideas often did. Smith. Why had she ignored that niggling feeling she'd had about him? Too wrapped up in her work she guessed. They'd spent enough time together for him to have hours and hours worth of her speech. But then, hadn't Siler recommended him for the job? No, Siler wouldn't have known anything about it. Would he?
"Great work Sergeant, I'm very impressed. All your hard work has definitely paid off." Captain Yik spoke to a young brunette woman sat in front of him at one of the main consoles.
"I would imagine you're wondering who has been recording you?" The captain said turning once more to face her, "You've probably worked out that Smith was not from the Air Force by now with your keen mind Colonel. He has been invaluable to this project and will be rewarded accordingly. But your friend Siler, he has been an added bonus, in fact he was key to getting Smith onto the Moonbase in order to make all this happen." He lifted his arms around him and looked at her again with that infuriating smile.
"You're lying, Siler would never knowingly help you." Sam's heart was beating wildly. Siler was beyond trustworthy. Sam had worked with him since the beginning of the SGC.
"Let's just say he didn't have much of a choice in the matter. Never mind that now, I would like to tell you why we are in this situation. You see, in reality, your people and mine are not that different."
Sam couldn't stop thinking about Siler and what he'd done, or been made to do. Whatever it was they had held over him, she just hoped it had nothing to do with Gloria. She'd met Siler's wife on a number of occasions and she really couldn't imagine her dealing with this situation well. She tried to focus on the captain's voice again, he was moving into the justification part of his speech where, typically, the bad guy would try to come up with a good reason for the atrocity they were about to commit. Over the years, SG-1 had heard them in every shape and form and Sam had been counting on this captain having one.
"We are also a race of explorers except we were not lucky enough to have a Stargate on our world to allow us to trade or steal technology from other planets and races in order to reach out into the galaxy. In this way we were, happily, left alone by most of the races you have encountered.
"Then four of your Earth years ago, a Goa'uld scout ship crash landed on our world. Our scientists quickly began to learn from the technology and files that were kept on the ship. You see our society thrives on science and exploration so all our efforts were put into finding a way to adapt the technology and learn as much as we could from it. Ships were built that although didn't mean travel at the speed of the Stargate system we could still travel faster than light. From the files, we learnt about the Tau'ri and we began to formulate a plan to come here and take your Stargate from you."
Sam gasped, they were here to take Earth in order to have the 'gate? "Why not ask if you could just use our 'gate in collaboration with us? Or go out and find a 'gate on an uninhabited world, they do exist. You must have realised that from the information on the ship?"
"From what we had learnt from the Goa'uld ship, you would not be open to something like that. And we did not have the infrastructure to use a 'gate on another world. We used everything to get here. A scout was sent out in that ship to find a way into the SGC. Something Smith accomplished with relative ease."
Sam had clearly underestimated the intelligence of these people. They had gone straight for the one person in the project that no-one would ever suspect.
"With Smith's guidance we came up with the plan you see in motion before you. When he'd found a way in he contacted us to tell the rest of the Guard to come on our fastest ship. And so we arrived and everything was in place for us to wipe out all the key defences surrounding the SGC so we could take it with the minimum amount of fuss or bother. You see Colonel, we are all scientists but very few of us are really fighters." Yik looked particularly proud of himself at that point. Sam simply stowed that interesting bit of knowledge away for later use.
"So you've come to our planet to take over just the SGC? You don't want to take over the entire world?" There were more questions running through Sam's head but she didn't have time to ask them all now.
"Why would we? You are on the verge of self-annihilation anyway, your atmosphere is a mess and the planet is slowly heating up. We want to explore the galaxy as you have for the past decade. You have had your turn, now it is ours. Don't worry, all the staff of the SGC will have their uses. We have found a particularly effective technique to ensure cooperation." That glint in the Captain's eyes was back. This man was one of the more dangerous Sam had come across; he truly believed in what he was doing and why he was doing it.
Right, thought Sam, that was quite enough of that. She knew what they were going to do now. They planned on getting as close to Earth as possible using her voice as a key and then they were going to bomb the hell out of the defences or beam straight into the SGC and take over from there. Whichever it was, she needed to move now if she was going to make a difference.
Sam knew the next part of her plan was risky. But after speaking to Yik she realised that her usual method of escape probably wouldn't work and would make the next part of her plan very difficult to carry out. She continued to stare at the captain, weighing up the options while keeping her face fixed with an emotionless mask that Teal'c would be proud of. Eventually she dropped her eyes, letting her shoulders slump in a gesture of defeat and despair. She sighed loudly and drew strength for her next sentence.
"You're right."
Yik turned slowly away from Sam to face the viewing screen again.
"Of course we're right. You've had the run of the galaxy for far too long. Now it's our turn."
Sam sighed again just to reaffirm the sense of defeat emanating from her person.
"I'm willing to sit quietly and cooperate but please, don't hurt the people back on the Moonbase. They're my family and I couldn't bear to see them hurt."
"And that is where your people will always fail. Time and again you have shown a shocking disregard for the consequences of others when it comes to making sure your team and those you love are safe." Yik was now sitting back in the CO's chair. He was obviously bored with the conversation.
"It is how we persuaded Siler to work for us and it is how we will get all those we need to work for us. Anyone who disobeys an order will see those they love killed in a most unpleasant fashion and then will themselves be killed." The lack of emotion in his voice was chilling to Sam. She could feel her anger bubbling below the surface but she knew if she was to complete her plan she needed the Kerosian Guard to think she was cooperating.
"I see" was all Sam said.
"Take her back to her cell. I don't think Colonel Carter will be causing any problems for us. Not if she wants her rather dashing General O'Neill to keep his oh-so-handsome head."
Sam could hear the danger in Captain Yik's voice dripping like venom. It turned her stomach and again she pushed down the worried feeling that she'd always associated with Jack being in danger.
Sam turned to her guard and they made their way off the bridge. Part one of the plan wasn't going too badly so far. Despite the death threats. Now came the hard part, getting away from her guard.
"Excuse me? EXCUSE ME!" Jack increased the volume of his voice to attract the attention of their guard through the thick door.
"Yeah? What do you want? Your room not to your liking sir?" Answered the guard as he opened the door carefully. Wow, thought Jack, this guard rivals my level of sarcasm.
"My friend here isn't well," he pointed at Daniel doubled up on the floor, "he must have had a reaction to whatever it was you used to knock us out."
"I don't see how he could have..." the guard took a step inside but then realised as he looked around what their plan was. "Seriously, do you think I'm that stupid?" He stepped back out and shouted down the hall to the other three guards. They came quickly and stepped into the room. "Our race's intelligence far outstrips your own, do you think I would fall for the old 'my friend is ill, can you come and help and then I'll knock you over the back of the head and escape' plan? Really?"
"Well, now you've just made us look like idiots haven't you?" Jack replied, looking embarrassed as Daniel got up off the floor to stand between Vala and Cam. Teal'c stood a little behind Jack looking as sheepish as was possible. "I guess we'll just have to think of something else won't we?" And on that cue the others leapt into action.
Teal'c ran forward and punched the nearest guard to the ground in a single strike, taking his weapon as he fell. At the same time, Vala and Daniel launched a coordinated attack on the original guard, hitting before the smirk following his final comment could leave his face. Vala went for his weapon as Daniel knocked him backwards with a mean right hook. Siler, Cam and Jack took care of the other two guards with the minimum of fuss. When all four guards were safely tied up with electrical cord that Siler and Daniel had managed to remove from behind a panel, they all stood and waited for Jack to tell them what was happening next.
"They clearly underestimated the 'beat them to a pulp' plan." Jack remarked, letting a slight grin form on his face. It was echoed in the faces of his team.
"Let's split up. Cam, Daniel, Vala, you'll go and find the comms room and try to warn Earth about what's happening, and tell them to ignore anything they've heard from Colonel Carter on Artemis."
"Sir?" Questioned Cam.
"These aliens will have used Carter's voice recordings to build up responses so they can get close enough to Earth without alerting the SGC to something being wrong." Jack explained.
Daniel gawped at Jack, he was still surprised even after all these years when Jack worked something out before he did.
"Right, come on then boys, let's go." Vala said with a smile on her face, gripping her weapon a little tighter; she was always happiest in the middle of the action. They left through the door with Vala in the lead.
"We'll meet you back here in 15 minutes. We're going to shut down that emitter permanently and find some more weapons so that when we do get to stopping the Artemis we can't just be knocked out again when they discover what we're up to. Siler that's where I'll need your help." He grabbed Siler by the shoulder as the sergeant nodded his head in agreement.
"Sir I just want to check the knots on those cables once more before we go." Siler said.
"Fine, we'll meet you outside, Teal'c and I will check the room the guards were in for any more weapons." He answered as he turned to leave the room behind Teal'c.
Siler made sure the General and Teal'c were out of earshot. He bent down to undo one of the knots holding the guards in place. Their original guard was the only one conscious at this point. Siler leant close to his ear and whispered;
"Tell Smith this is the last time I help him. I want to see Gloria the next time I see him." And with that he stood up again and left the room quickly to catch up with Jack.
Jack, Teal'c and Siler moved carefully and quietly through the corridors of the Moonbase towards the emitter room. Siler was leading the way with Teal'c bringing up the rear. Siler could see no harm in helping the others disable the emitter. Besides, the general would get suspicious if he didn't and it wouldn't matter anyway as they'd be stopped by the time they got to the exterior weapons control room.
They came up to the last corner and Siler stopped suddenly, signalling for the others to follow suit. Jack leant in close to Siler and they chanced a glance around the corner to see what guards were in place around the room. Luckily for them there were only two, rather nervous looking ones.
"Siler, what can these weapons do?" Jack whispered.
"As far as I can see from the design sir, I would imagine they're used like the zats." Siler answered quietly.
"Great, so I don't have to feel too bad for shooting one of these guys, because, to be honest, they don't look like they'd put up much of a fight anyway." As Jack finished his sentence he swung round the corner and aimed the small alien weapon at the closest guard and pulled the trigger. Siler was right and the guard fell to the floor as if he'd been knocked out. His partner looked completely dazed and confused as to why his comrade was on the floor and before he could work out what had happened he too had been hit by the purple light from Jack's weapon.
"Well that was far easier than I was expecting but let's not dwell on that fact. Siler get into that room and disable the emitter any way you can but don't make it look too obvious, we want to keep them off our sixes for as long as possible. Teal'c, we'll take care of these two."
Teal'c acknowledged Jack with a small nod of his head. As Siler ran past Jack into the room, Teal'c and the General shared a look that said they had to keep an eye on Siler. Neither of them were happy to trust him just yet; they were both aware of how powerful a threat Smith's was.
After they had taken care of tying up the unconscious guards and taking their weapons, Teal'c and Jack went back into the emitter room to check on the progress Siler had made. Jack was acutely aware of the time as Siler worked. The Artemis was getting closer to Earth all the time and they had a small window where they would be able to hit the Artemis using the base's weapons before it started orbiting the Earth.
"Sir, I've managed to disable the main circuit connecting the controls to the emitter without cutting off its energy supply, making it look like it's still functioning when in fact it won't send any signals to the physical emitter." Siler said as he stood to face Jack. Siler hoped that the general would know he was telling the truth; he wouldn't blame him if he didn't.
"Good work Sergeant, you may redeem yourself before the day is out." Jack knew that he would just have to trust that Siler had done the right thing, but his gut was backing him up this time; telling him that this time the younger man was telling the truth. "Right, let's get back and meet the others and hope that they've been lucky and managed to get in contact with Earth." Jack left the small room making sure Siler was in front of him, still wanting to keep an eye on him. They raced back through the corridors towards their cell, all of them glancing at their watches trying to work out how long they had left before they had to take the action they were all fearing.
As they reached the cell, they could see Daniel, Cam and Vala had all made it back before them.
"I'm sorry sir but the comms room was too heavily guarded, there was no way we were going to make it into there without making a huge amount of noise." Cam looked worried and tense, despite the calm tone of his voice, his mind was clearly running the same scenario as Jack's was. If there was no way to contact Earth then it would be up to them to shoot down the Artemis - with Sam on board. Vala and Daniel were looking equally concerned, which was compounded by Vala's unusual silence.
"O'Neill, we must reach the weapons room and destroy the Artemis. Colonel Carter would not want us to hesitate solely because of her." Teal'c, as always, said what they were all thinking and was the voice of reason in general, but at this point Jack really didn't want to hear it.
"You don't think I know that T? It doesn't mean that it's any easier." Jack immediately regretted his outburst. Teal'c was simply regarding him with a soft and slightly hurt expression on his face. Jack was taken aback by it, he often forgot quite how close Teal'c and Sam had become after he'd left the SGC for Washington. "Look, I know this is tough on everyone but I want you all to realise something. This is my responsibility alone, I am the senior officer and if anyone is to push that button it should be me." Jack said with the most commanding voice he could muster; the same one he'd used countless times when making a difficult decision; the one that allowed him to shrug off the personal attachment. But this time, it wasn't fooling any of them and the attachment wasn't dropping like it should.
Ignoring the sorrowful faces of those around him, Jack turned to Siler - "Take us to the weapons room and carefully - we really don't need to run into any of Smith's goons." Siler nodded and led them all down the corridor to their left. After a few twists and turns through the grey, metallic tunnels (and a couple of near misses with more guards) they reached the final stretch before the weapons room.
This time, they weren't quite so lucky. Five big guards stood in a huddle in front of the door that seemingly led to weapons control. During the design of the base, it had been decided that the weapons control should be located in a separate area from the central control room to slow down any invaders if they captured the base. The room could act as a separate control room, much like a secondary bridge on a ship.
Teal'c and Cam waited for a moment when all the guards were facing away from them to cross to the other side of the T-junction of corridors they'd reached. On Jack's signal, all six of them opened fire on the guards managing to take most of them by surprise save one. He slipped inside the room using the sliding door as cover as his fellow guards fell to the ground unconscious. Jack and the others moved forward quickly, working together to ensure all the guards were really down as Cam and Teal'c took up well-practised positions on either side of the door to move in and take down the guard as soon as the door slid open. The guard was firing wildly but SG-1 were too well trained to panic and Cam quickly took him down with a well aimed shot from behind a control panel. They all moved into the room and Jack swiftly moved to the main panel in the centre of the room.
Siler slipped in at the back and stayed out of the way. He was overcome by the thought that his actions would lead to the death of the scientist and officer he'd worked with for over ten years. He was completely happy for the others to forget him as he stood by the door.
"Thank God, we're still in time. There's roughly ten minutes before Artemis enters Earth orbit." Secretly, Jack had been hoping the Artemis would be too far away; part of him (a much larger part than he would happily admit) would be happy to see the whole Earth burn if it meant Samantha Carter would live. He took a deep breath and pushed those emotions down. He thought back to how he'd shot Sam twice with the zat when she was taken over by the entity all those years ago. It was exactly the same, he told himself. Except it wasn't. Images of her lying next to him that very morning flashed in his mind. The way she'd leant across and gently kissed his forehead to wake him up. How the soft morning light had reflected in her eyes as she'd smiled at him, a smile that only he'd seen, it was reserved for him and him alone. He dropped his head and when he raised it again he was in full control. He was Jack O'Neill, he saved the world. At all costs - he'd done it before and he would do it again. With the help of his team.
"O'Neill, this must be done now." Teal'c was right beside him, a strong force allowing Jack to draw courage from him. This had to be done and they all knew that Sam would have done everything she could to stop the Artemis herself but had obviously failed. Now it was their responsibility, no matter what the personal costs were. Vala buried her face in Daniel's chest as Jack set the controls to target the Artemis with the weapons with the range and speed to destroy it. Daniel wrapped his arms around the smaller woman as a tear slipped down his cheek. He'd never been as strong as the other men on the team when it came to matters such as these and despite knowing that this was completely necessary, his heart still ached at the thought of losing one of his best friends.
Cam stood slightly away from the others watching the screen as Jack set the final controls. His face was set in a grim but certain expression. He would grieve later, right now the General needed a strong and professional team to finish the job.
Jack checked once more that the calculations were correct and armed the weapons.
"It'll take about thirty seconds for the weapons to hit Artemis." He said bluntly.
Jack checked once more with all of his team. His heart swelled as each of them, even Vala, returned his gaze with a simple nod. He reached forward and with a steadying breath pressed the button to fire the Moonbase's weapons.
And nothing happened.
Sam kept her face hidden from the guard as she stumbled off the bridge and into the nearby lift. This would be the perfect opportunity. She leant against the wall of the lift directly underneath the camera she knew someone would be watching. Sam allowed herself to slide down the wall into a position perfectly impersonating someone who was completely defeated and dejected.
"Get up." The guard stated. Sam lowered her head onto her arms that rested on top of her pulled-up knees.
"I said get up." The guard repeated as he leant down to pull her up by one of her arms, but Sam was ready for this. She grabbed his wrist as he reached for her and pulled him down so his head connected with the trinium alloy of the wall in a sickening thud. As the, now unconscious, guard fell on top of her, Sam smiled to herself.
Being careful to stay out of the eye-line of the camera, Sam pressed the button for the engineering level of the Artemis, hoping that whoever was watching the cameras wouldn't think it strange that both her and her guard had suddenly disappeared.
As the lift came to a stop, she took a deep breath and thought about what she needed to do next. As the doors opened she was relieved to find there was no-one waiting for it. She stepped out cautiously into the corridor and heard voices coming around the corner. Sam quickly stepped into an alcove in the corridor opposite. The two aliens passed without noticing her and she let out a sigh. Glancing at her watch she realised she had very little time to do what she was planning.
Sam ducked down, checking around her once more and opened the panel to a service duct. Climbing inside, she turned to replace the panel as quietly as possible. She hoped that none of her captors knew about this duct, she reminded herself that it wouldn't look like anything important on the schematics and they still thought she was in the brig. Trying to stay positive, she crawled along the duct keeping her head up and thinking about everything that was at stake.
Eventually she came to another panel and opened it slowly onto the little room that would be key to the success of her plan. The store room was barely worth considering to anybody on the ship but it did contain the one relay that only someone with Sam's intimate knowledge could know was vital to the engines. But apparently she was wrong about that or she'd seriously underestimated a certain captain. As the panel swung open fully, Sam looked up to find Captain Yik staring back at her with that infuriating smirk on his face.
"Colonel you're act up on the bridge was quite impressive but unfortunately for you, we realised where you were heading as soon as the lift started heading for engineering rather than the brig. You really don't understand just how smart my race really is do you?" Yik stood with his arms crossed waiting for Sam to extricate herself, in a rather unladylike fashion, from the duct.
Sam was beyond furious at this point, her anger mixing with the desperation she felt at the time ticking away from her. She was seriously fed up with this man and his games. She'd tried a Jack tactic, maybe it was time to change to a more democratic, Daniel style one. But whatever it was she was going to try she had to do it quickly.
"Look, I understand that you want to explore the universe, but this isn't the right way to go about it. We have allies in the galaxy and they will not be pleased when they learn what you've done." Sam was standing openly, facing the tall captain.
"You do not understand Colonel Carter, we have put everything into getting here, into taking your Stargate. We cannot turn back now." The smile had faltered just for a second and Sam had seen something else flash across Yik's handsome features. Desperation. She now understood that the something else she'd seen behind Yik's eyes had not been cruelty or evil, it had been pure desperation.
"We could help you." The thought had appeared in Sam's head unbidden. She'd definitely been spending too much time with Daniel if she thought that the SGC could work with these people.
"What?"
"We could... help you find another Stargate on another world and set it up. There are ones out there that aren't being used by anyone. If your race is so intelligent then it wouldn't take long for you to set up your own command and infrastructure." Sam couldn't believe the words were coming out of her mouth.
"Do not think you can trick us again Colonel Carter." Yik replied, his face had returned to its original smirk, although Sam thought there was a glimmer in his eyes now that had not been there before.
"Why would I lie now? To stop you taking the SGC? To buy myself some time? What would be the point? You are in control of a ship that could cause a serious amount of damage to pretty much any target you chose on Earth. You are holding all of my closest friends prisoner and, like you said, you can do anything you like to them. What is the point of me lying now? If I'm lying you can kill me where I stand. I stake my own life on this promise." Sam's own desperation was now apparent in her voice and her face. She knew the only way for her to convince this man was to open up her feelings to them. He was intelligent enough to see through a lie but she also hoped he was intelligent enough to see when she was telling the truth.
After regarding her face for a long moment, Yik's own expression softened. The smirk disappeared and was replaced by a vulnerability.
"I can see that you are not lying." He paused and took a deep breath. "You would do that? I mean, after everything we've done here, to you, to your friends and colleagues?" Yik was clearly taken aback. The smarminess had gone, the shock of Sam's words was clearing all that away, leaving only the curiosity of a scientist behind.
"To avoid the bloodshed that you'd cause if we didn't, of course we would. But you would have to trust us and I'm sure that the government would want to enter into some sort of trade agreement too. We can help each other in so many ways. You don't need to do this, please, there isn't much time." Sam was pleading not only for herself now but for those on Earth who would die if this went ahead.
Yik was clearly acutely aware of the time too, he looked worried about something. His face had been softening through their entire exchange. The brave warrior captain facade was falling away and the softer man underneath was appearing. Sam had seen this before and recognised someone who was just trying to do the best for those around him.
"How can I trust you?" The suspicion returned. Yik had spent too long in the military to put his trust in someone this quickly.
"You have my word, as an officer and as a scientist. I will do everything I possibly can to help you with this. I have a lot of pull with my government, if I say you can help us, they'll believe me." Sam was so close, she could taste it, everything was going to be ok.
The captain finally conceded.
"I believe you Colonel Carter. I did not realise how honest humans could be. From what we'd read about you from the Goa'uld, we believed you to be ruthless killers. You have taught me otherwise. I will call off the attack."
"Thank you! Thank you so much. You won't regret this." The worry left Sam and she felt the common prickle of excitement at the thought of getting to learn about new technologies from these people. People, she could admit now, who had a very similar attitude to herself.
"But first, I must contact the Moonbase as there is a situation developing there that could spell the end for our alliance before it has even begun."
Sam's stomach dropped and a sense of panic threatened to overcome her. The world wasn't worth saving if that group of people weren't on it.
Jack hit the button again. Again nothing happened. What the hell was going on? He glanced around at the others but they couldn't help him. They looked as puzzled as he felt. But then a voice cut through the confusion.
"The look on your faces now was definitely worth the five guards that you knocked out."
Jack turned slowly, feeling defeat wash over him. There was nothing else they could do now, they had run out of time.
Smith had an enormous grin on his face as he stood by the open door with Siler on one side of him and a blonde woman Jack didn't recognise on the other. The guards they had previously knocked out were apparently regaining consciousness as well. This situation was turning from bad to worse.
"No witty comebacks this time? Well once again I have Siler to thank for helping me out. If he hadn't undone those guards in your cell I would never have known what you were up to. And we wouldn't have had time to disable the weapons before you shot down the Artemis." Smith was enjoying himself now, the woman he was holding was sobbing silently with her head down. Siler kept glancing between the woman and the ground.
"Siler? Again?" But suddenly it struck Jack. He realised who the woman was and a rush of sympathy hit him.
Siler stood dejected, his uniform was uncharacteristically undone slightly and he kept glancing towards the woman on the other side of Smith.
"General, I'm not as strong as you, I couldn't have blown up a ship if I'd known the woman I love was on it. I had to do everything I could to save Gloria. Don't you see? She's my world. Without her, life is nothing." Siler went back to staring at the ground.
"Aww, well isn't that lovely? Gloria why don't you go and comfort your husband? After everything he's been through I think he deserves to have you back." Smith let go of the woman and she fell to the floor. Siler rushed forward to help her.
"No." Gloria's voice was low but certain. "How could you do that? Betray your friends, colleagues and even your WORLD? What is wrong with you? And you dare to say it was for me? If you knew me... loved me at all, you wouldn't have done this." She got up and walked to the opposite side of the room – she wanted to be as far away from her husband as possible.
Siler stayed on the ground. Stunned into silence, he turned away from the others and sat completely still, defeated.
"Oh dear. Not quite the reunion you were expecting Siler? Well, now that that's done, we might as well kill all of you. We were going to keep you to help us train for going through the Stargate but there are others we can use. I don't really see the point in having you around anymore, you cause more trouble than you're worth. It was worth smuggling Gloria aboard to see the not so happy reunion." Smith was playing now, his true nature shocking them all. The guards ran forward and wrestled them into submission, new arrivals helping the guards the team had taken down earlier.
Once they were all kneeling before Smith with their hands behind their backs, the psychotic spy started to stride up and down the row of his prisoners.
"Now who to kill first? I feel like a child in a sweet shop, I just don't know which one to pick. How about you Doctor Jackson? You seem to be the most annoying from what I've heard from Siler here over the last few months." Smith stopped in front of Daniel and changed a setting on his weapon. "Don't worry Doctor Jackson this will only hurt for a second. Though the pain is said to be excruciating."
"Daniel!" Vala cried out.
"You don't want to do this Smith!" Jack was desperate now, he hated being powerless.
Smith put the gun to the side of Daniel's head as the doctor tried to struggle against his restraints but it was no good.
Before Smith could take his shot though, something beeped inside his uniform. He sighed and pulled out a small communication device.
"Yes captain?"
"Stop whatever it is you're about to do. You will not harm those people and you and your men will stand down. I have come to an understanding with the colonel here and we are to become allies with this race." Yik's voice was calm and level but the team could see the frustration on Smith's face.
"But sir, they are the enemy and they deserve to die for their selfish and brutal ways." He sounded like a child being reprimanded.
"I said no. Now hand the communicator to General O'Neill, Colonel Carter wishes to speak with him." Jack stood up as his and the others' restraints were removed and they were allowed to stand by their guards. The captain obviously held much more respect with them than Smith.
"O'Neill here." Jack said as he took hold of the communicator with a barely concealed shaking in his hands.
"It's Colonel Carter sir, I've come to an agreement with Captain Yik here, their commander. I've promised him that we will become allies. There is a lot to explain but we'll talk about it when I get back to the base. I've talked to the SGC and they know what's happened. Is everybody ok up there?" The tremble in Sam's voice was one that only Jack could hear. She was safe but he couldn't believe just how close he'd come to killing the woman he loved.
"Well done colonel. We're all right up here, you called in the nick of time actually, Smith was just about to blow Daniel's head off. We're all glad to hear you're safe, I'll speak to you when you get back to the Moonbase. O'Neill out." He handed the communicator back to a very angry Smith.
"No witty comeback Smith?" Jack said with a grin. Everything was going to be fine. Apart from Siler, he still couldn't believe what he'd done. And apparently neither could his wife, who was being comforted by Cam and Teal'c.
But as Jack turned to help them comfort the shattered woman, he didn't see Smith aim his gun once more at Daniel.
Jack turned as if in slow motion, he couldn't move quickly enough, it was as if he was stuck in treacle and there was nothing he could do to get back to Smith in time to stop him firing on Daniel. But as he turned he noticed someone else moving out of the corner of his eye. The body flung itself on top of Daniel and pushed him to the ground just as the shot from Smith's weapon struck their back. Jack had been caught off guard, he was definitely too old to be in the field if his reactions had slowed that much.
There was a cry and it brought Jack out of his trance. Gloria ran forward and suddenly Jack understood. The body had been Siler, and now he hoped against hope that he wouldn't be just a body. Teal'c had taken care of Smith, smashing him into the wall of the room before he could get another shot off. None of the guards had offered any resistance, wanting the team to be aware that they were happy to stand down.
Daniel pushed Siler over gently so he could escape from underneath him. He nodded to Jack to assure him he was unhurt but looked down with a worried expression at the man who had saved his life. The whole of SG1 surrounded the man, Cam checking his pulse as Vala comforted Gloria. She pulled the woman to her, softly pulling her face away so she didn't have to see Cam's expression.
"There's a pulse but it's faint, he needs medical attention now."
Gloria pulled away from Vala with hope in her eyes, all of Siler's mistakes were forgotten in that moment, not only by her but by the team too. He was one of their own and he was hurt; they would do anything to help him.
"Teal'c take him to the infirmary, Cam ask one of these clowns where the medical staff are being held and get them down there to help Siler. Vala and Daniel, take Gloria and start releasing the rest of the staff, I'm sorry Gloria" he said as she looked at him in shock, "but you need to do something to take your mind off your husband and you won't be any help, they'll look after him I promise and I will let you know as soon as they know something. Everyone pick up a radio from the locker on your way out." Jack was glad to shrug on his officer role again, it was something comfortable that stopped the shock that was threatening to creep in after the events of the last few minutes.
"You lot, I want you to gather all your little friends and the ones that aren't helping Vala and Daniel should meet in the canteen. I really don't trust you after Smith's little stunt and I want you all where I can keep an eye on you until your CO gets here with the colonel."
Everyone in the room nodded at Jack to confirm his orders, Teal'c had already left carrying Siler gently but quickly in the direction of the infirmary. Jack prayed that they could save him, despite his actions of the last day, he'd done something truly selfless and that went a long way to absolving him in Jack's book.
Sam stood beside Yik, waiting for the airlock to go through its checks before the door opened. They'd spent the trip back to the Moonbase going over a plan of what would happen next with regards to the government and the Kerosians. Sam was going to speak to Homeworld Security (with the help of Jack she hoped) and Yik would speak to his government. It wasn't going to be easy on either of them to convince their people about the other's suitability. However, they both knew it was for the best and they hoped that that would be enough.
As the door slid open, a huge grin formed on Sam's face at the sight of the man on the other side, but it disappeared just as quickly when she saw the look on his face. They both stepped through the door into the corridor.
"General, what's wrong?"
"It's Siler, Smith shot him. Well, he was trying to shoot Daniel but Siler threw himself on top of Daniel to save him."
Her and Jack both glanced at Yik to see his reaction. He looked as shocked as Sam felt.
"Is he... dead?" She said as she returned her gaze to Jack. Sam was angry at Siler for the way he'd betrayed them all but he didn't deserve to die for it.
"They're working on him now in the infirmary. It's touch and go. His wife is here too, but Vala and Daniel are keeping her occupied releasing the rest of the staff." Jack was angry, Sam could tell. It was barely hidden below his cool, commanding exterior.
"General O'Neill, I would like to apologise on behalf of my people for what has occurred here today, Colonel Carter has filled me in on what humans are really like and if we had known we would never have gone ahead with this plan. Smith or Lok as he is known to me, is a true exception amongst my people. He is heartless and cruel and exactly what we needed to get the job done. But he will not have a place in this alliance, I will make sure of that." Yik was standing openly with his hands by his sides. Sam watched Jack's face carefully and could see the moment when Jack believed him after he'd looked to her for any sign that this was some sort of trick. She held his gaze and passed on the message – everything's ok, this is for the best, trust me. His eyes flicked back to Yik.
"Well at the moment Yik, we have him locked in a cell. The rest of your men and women are in the canteen under the watchful eye of one of my teams. I would like to move them back to your ship. I want them off the base until we have spoken with our government and they have decided what is to be done. I think it would be best that you stay with us while we speak with them so you can give your side of the story. Believe me, they won't be as easy to convince as the colonel here." Jack was still looking at Yik with a slight suspicion. Sam smiled at him reassuringly, letting him know that he was doing the right thing again.
Jack called over an airman and asked him to escort Yik to the canteen to meet his men.
"Colonel I would like you to come with me to the infirmary to check up on Siler. On the way you can tell me exactly what happened on that ship." Sam was surprised by Jack's formality but realised now was not the time for sentimentality.
"Of course sir." She answered as they started to walk towards the infirmary.
"What is taking them so long?"
"I don't know Gloria, I'm sorry." Daniel answered as the blonde woman paced in front of him and Vala. He dropped his voice, "I told you we should've kept her away, she'll just worry here." he hissed in Vala's ear.
"Look, it's better that she's here. And be honest, wouldn't you rather be here too?" Vala whispered back. Daniel just tutted and leant away from her to prop his head up with his hands. They'd been sat in the corridor outside the infirmary for only five minutes but everyone was tetchy. Cam and Teal'c had told the others as they'd arrived that the medics were taking Siler straight into surgery. Now, Teal'c was standing facing the door with a typically stoic expression while Cam was sat much stiller than they were used to. He was staring at the wall opposite, clearly playing out what had just happened again and again in his mind.
Daniel and Vala's eyes followed Gloria as she continued to pace impatiently. They could all guess what was going through her head at that moment. She'd been short with them both as they'd released the other prisoners, resentful of them keeping them away from her husband but she respected the decision of a general.
Sam and Jack approached the tense group at a brisk pace, talking quickly.
"Thank you Colonel" he said to Sam before turning to face the others, "Mitchell have we heard anything about Siler yet?"
"No sir, they've taken him into surgery and we haven't heard anything since." Cam replied in a quiet voice.
As Cam finished talking a nurse stepped out of the infirmary, visibly taking a breath before standing in front of the crowd to explain what had happened.
"We've stabilised him, but it's going to be a long road to recovery. He had severe burns but the new technology from the Asgard has helped considerably. I don't know if he would have survived otherwise. He'll be awake soon, but he'll be on a lot of drugs to keep the pain under control. Don't expect too much from him. Excuse me but I need to get back to him. I will let you know when he's conscious and ready for visitors. Only two at a time mind." The small nurse smiled meekly, turned and returned through the door she'd exited from.
Gloria burst into tears and sank into a chair, her legs no longer supporting her. Vala moved next to her and pulled her into a hug. The relief in the small corridor was palpable. Cam and Daniel were both smiling and a glimmer of a grin played at the corner of Teal'c's mouth. Jack and Sam turned to each other and exchanged tight, but meaningful smiles. There was still a lot of work to be done, but knowing Siler would be ok made the thought of what came next easier.
The talks had gone well. Surprisingly well, Sam thought. They were only a beginning and there was a lot to do but it was looking like both races would be able to work together. The Kerosians had been asked to return to their own planet in order to set up an official delegation to meet with a special committee that would be set up by the government to deal with the new alliance. It was going to take a long time to get things moving but they were moving forward.
The Kerosians had turned out to be very fair to the prisoners on the Moonbase and after Yik had explained how the plan to gain control of the SGC had come about (largely due to a mixture of propaganda and fear-mongering by a corrupt elite), Homeworld Security and the President had accepted that it would be in everyone's best interest to look at creating an alliance. Sam suspected it might have something more to do with the amount of new technology and knowledge that the Kerosians could give them rather than a fear of what the Kerosians could do if they didn't agree to help. But, she didn't have a problem with that. She couldn't wait to work more closely with this race of people who had such a similar outlook on life as her.
However, as Sam walked back from the comms room to her quarters to freshen up, she couldn't help but think how close they'd come, yet again, to mass destruction. Surely, there would be an end to it soon? Couldn't she have a simple life now of science and discovery? She loved her team and the adrenaline rush of when something went wrong but times had changed and it was time for her life to take a different turn. And there was one person in particular she wanted to take that turn with. A smile crept across her face as Sam thought of Jack and opened the door to her quarters. The smile turned into a grin as she looked up to see that very man sat on the edge of her bunk.
"How did you...?" But Sam's question died on her lips as she saw the expression on Jack's face.
"Jack?" She said with uncertainty. The use of his name seemed to bring him out of whatever trance had a grip on him.
He looked up and smiled when he saw her but it didn't reach his eyes. It wasn't the smile that Sam knew was reserved just for her. He went back to staring at his hands with the distracted look that haunted his features.
"Hey. You ok?" His voice was monotone and devoid of emotion.
"I'm fine, but you're clearly not." Sam strode across her room to sit beside him on the bed. She didn't attempt to touch him but sat in a position mirroring his own, with her hands resting lightly across her thighs. She gazed at him waiting for him to find the strength to tell her what was on his mind. Sam knew that he would tell her in his own time; he found it as hard as she did to confront his feelings towards her. Still. Even after they'd admitted their true feelings to each other. But when Jack did tell her exactly how he felt it was like a bolt of brilliant white light, cutting through the haze of hidden emotions and desires they'd held for years. Sam knew that this was one of those moments.
Jack straightened his back almost imperceptibly. He raised his head and turned to face Sam. Holding his gaze still caused Sam to lose her breath and train of thought. Today it was as unguarded as she'd ever seen. She hoped she was ready for this conversation.
"I killed you. I mean, I pushed the button that would have killed you."
Sam's expression softened as it suddenly dawned on her just what had happened on the Moonbase while she was stuck on the Artemis. She hadn't had time to talk to the others and Jack had been so busy getting her report on what had happened she hadn't had chance to ask him what had gone on with the rest of them. Jack hadn't been prepared to talk about it until they were alone and now she knew why.
"You had no choice Jack. You know that, the others know that, I know that. It was me or the Earth as far as you were concerned." Sam hoped she could talk him out of the thought process going through his mind because it could very well lead to the kind of Jack she'd first met all those years ago.
"But what kind of person could do that? To the person they loved? Siler was prepared to betray everyone, his friends, his colleagues, his planet for the woman he loved. What does that say about me?" He got up from the bed and started to pace around the room, unable to sit next to the lover he'd almost killed just a few hours earlier.
"That you're an incredibly brave person. Jack, you were prepared to give up everything to save the world. It's no different than when you stuck your head in the Ancient device. You did what you had to to save the world. And for that I'm grateful." She looked down at her hands, no longer willing to look at the close-to-breaking man before her.
"Grateful?" He'd stopped pacing and was staring at her now. To anyone else his tone sounded almost scoffing. Sam knew better.
"Yes, because it means I know I've fallen for the right guy. I wouldn't want you to do anything else in that situation. You're so strong, Jack. I don't know anyone else who would be able to do that, anyone else who wouldn't run in the other direction when it came to that decision." Sam continued to stare at her hands. She still found it difficult to be this candid with her former CO.
"I don't feel strong now. You make me weak Sam. You make the rest of the world fall away when you walk into a room. I have fallen so hard for you since we've been together, I can't breathe when you're near me and that terrifies me. Because, next time, I don't know if I can do it, if I can be brave enough to sacrifice you. I can't give you up again." He was looking at her now, waiting for her to respond. His heart was pounding in his chest, all of the day's emotions were pouring out of him.
At Jack's last remark, something had clicked for Sam. She understood everything he'd gone through over the years in an instant and the full extent of their sentiments for each other hit her like a steam train. And she immediately knew what she needed to do. She raised her eyes to meet his with a steady and calm look. Slowly, she stood from her seat on the bed, never taking her eyes from his and closed the gap between them before softly saying "Come here" and taking the man she loved into her arms.
Siler opened his eyes slowly. It had been a few days since the attack and his back was healing well thanks to the advanced medical technology given to them by the Asgard. Gloria had seemingly not left his side since he'd first regained consciousness after the incident with Smith. Once again, she'd fallen asleep with her head resting on his hand. Despite everything that the evil man had put him through, Siler had to thank Smith for shooting him. It seemed to have softened everyone's attitude towards his betrayal. Gloria had finally begun to understand why he'd done all the things he had. He was still going to be in a huge amount of trouble with Homeworld Security but General O'Neill seemed to have changed his attitude towards him after he'd saved his best friend's life. Hopefully that would mean a certain amount of leniency when it came to his punishment.
As he awoke properly he heard a group of voices moving into the room. Gloria woke up too, smiling as she noticed he was watching her. SG-1, members old and new, appeared on the other side of the curtain as Vala pulled it aside excitedly.
"Hi Siler!" she said enthusiastically. And so began another day in the infirmary of the Moonbase with the team he'd worked closely with for such a long time. The banter flew back and forth between the team.
"So who did it then? Seriously, I don't want to be forced to pull rank but if someone doesn't own up then you'll all be facing a court martial." Siler was surprised by how worked up the colonel was, it wasn't like her to get so annoyed by a simple prank.
The rest of the team were all looking particularly sheepish, including Teal'c if that was possible. General O'Neill was just looking downright confused and had started fiddling with a syringe he'd found on a nearby table.
Vala had turned to lean slightly towards Sam in a feigned movement to reach for Siler's chart. Siler saw her point towards Daniel and Teal'c, hiding her hand with her body as she nodded at the colonel.
"DANIEL! And TEAL'C? Why, for the life of me, would you leave those things in my quarters? And don't start acting like you weren't the ones who did it because I already asked the general and I know it wasn't him." Carter was really going for it now. "I only found them because of the smell."
Daniel and Teal'c had managed to move to the other side of Siler's bed to get away from the colonel. General O'Neill looked like he was immensely enjoying himself.
"We thought that the fishing kit would be a little something to remind you of home. But I have to admit maybe the mealworms were a mistake..." Daniel returned his gaze to the floor.
"Indeed, Colonel Carter, did you not think our gift was thoughtful?" Teal'c was looking genuinely worried at the thought of displeasing his favourite Colonel.
At that question, Colonel Carter's expression softened and Siler realised that she was very conscious of not hurting the tall Jaffa's feelings.
"It was very... thoughtful guys. Just please give it to me next time, rather than hiding it under my bed. Where I'm not going to notice it until three days later when it starts to smell."
Laughter filled the small infirmary, ranging from Cam's hearty chortle to Carter's giggles and Siler relaxed (as much as he could) back into his pillows. He would enjoy his time here as much as possible before he found out what would happen to him when he returned to Earth. He wanted to hold onto the fact that the people that really mattered had forgiven him. Now it didn't matter what the rest of the world thought of him.